LITTLE ROCK — Almost everyone misses him
There is no telling how many get-well wishes Mariano Rivera has received while recovering from knee surgery. But at least 608 of them have not yet been delivered.
Buddy Niederhoffer, a New York Yankees fan from the Bronx, is the keeper of that conglomeration, one for each of Rivera’s regular-season saves for the Yankees. Niederhoffer set out from June 23 to Oct. 3, the final day of the regular season, to collect a motley mix of signatures and kind words for Rivera on the pages of a well-traveled 8-by-10 sketchbook with a blue cover and dog-eared pages.
“I asked anyone and everyone to sign it,” Niederhoffer told the New York Times.
The quest even took him into enemy territory. During a visit to Fenway Park, he said, he was careful not to incite Boston Red Sox fans when asking if they might have a few kind words for Rivera, who has often shut down their team. “Some of those Red Sox fans looked at me like I had six heads,” Niederhoffer said. “But I took a low-key approach so none of them were overaggressive with me.”
By the time he left Boston, 15 Red Sox fans had added their names to the unique get-well collection. One of them, however, would sign only her first name: “Even Red Sox fans wish you well!” a woman named Michelle wrote.
A New York Times reporter who is heading to the Yankees’ spring training camp in Tampa, Fla., next week will deliver the book to Rivera.
Questionable behavior
From Mike Bianchi of The Orlando Sentinel:
On running back Alex Collins’ mother confiscating his letter of intent Wednesday to delay his signing with Arkansas: “I’ve always said there’s no better way to show your kid that you love him than a maternal signing day decommitment.”
On Olympic gold medalist Lindsey Vonn tearing up her knee at the Alpine skiing world championships: “Will President Obama now think long and hard about allowing his daughters to snow ski?”
On the Baltimore Ravens planning to erect a statue of retired linebacker Ray Lewis: “ I’m just wondering if he’ll be depicted obstructing a ball carrier during the Super Bowl or obstructing justice during a murder investigation?”
Fashion statement
Joe Flacco is soaking up all the opportunities that come with being a Super Bowl champ, including nabbing a front row seat at New York Fashion Week.
The Baltimore Ravens quarterback and his wife, Dana Grady, had prime real-estate for Tommy Hilfiger’s ever-preppy men’s fashion collection Friday at the Park Avenue Armory.
“It was pretty cool. It was a lot quicker than I thought it would have been,” said Flacco after watching his first fashion show.
Flacco, who led the Ravens in a 34-31 victory against the San Francisco 49ers at the Super Bowl in New Orleans, gave a nod of approval as a model passed by in a fitted navy blazer, layered under a dark, shearling car coat.
So what would his teammates say about his fashion week cameo?
“You know they’d probably pick on me a little bit, but it was a lot of fun,” said Flacco.
Quote of the day
“Sometimes when you play a team such as Florida and people are patting you on the back,
you start believing, and I think we got caught up in that.” Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson, after losing 67-49 to Vanderbilt after beating No. 2 Florida earlier in the week
Sports, Pages 24 on 02/10/2013